Wearing Red Makes You More Attractive, and Other Laws of Human Attraction

If human sexual attraction was straightforward or foolproof, we’d all be walking around with a lot less emotional baggage. Unfortunately attraction is incredibly complex, which is why the internet is full of lists like this one at the Huffington Post, which attempts explain in lay terms why we have very little control over some aspects of our attractions to each other.

The bad news is, only six of the seventeen “laws” of attraction are within our control. One fun fact is that men and women are sexier in red clothing, a phenomenon that our nonhuman primate cousins are also sensitive to. The other eleven laws of attraction are the result of whether you drew a long or short straw in the ol’ gene pool of life. It’s Darwin, and frankly it’s disheartening.

The good news is that it looks like we are mostly attracted to people we deem to be “average.” Traditionally, saying that someone is average-looking is hardly complimentary, but in this case average just means that you look somewhat like most of the other beautiful people out there. Our (rude) brains don’t like outliers, apparently. Also ladies, we are statistically more attractive when we crack a smile. Men, we apparently prefer you to have a slight smile and…raised fists.

I know I’m not a scientist, but men… please keep your fists down. And honestly, the only foolproof “law” of attraction is that we are attracted to people.